A New York appeals court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 conviction for rape. The stunning move has prompted questions over what this means for his 2022 rape conviction in California, for which he is currently serving a 16-year sentence.
A wave of rape and sexual assault allegations spanning decades against Weinstein began pouring out in 2017, spurring a reckoning in the entertainment industry with the #MeToo movement. The landmark New York sex crimes trial, resulting in the now-overturned guilty verdict, signified what felt to many like a turning point.
The second trial, this time in Los Angeles, came as the embattled movie mogul, 72, served time in New York. A jury convicted him of rape and sexual assault, stemming from rape allegations brought by a woman identified as Jane Doe 1. Doe is now the only victim of Weinstein to obtain a criminal conviction against him. Weinstein is appealing the Los Angeles conviction, where he was found guilty of multiple counts of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and forcible penetration with a foreign object.
Despite the similarities between the two cases, including witnesses who testified in both cases, legal experts don’t expect ramifications on the 2022 rape and sexual assault conviction or appeals process, noting that different jurisdictions handle cases differently.
Harvey Weinstein’s overturned conviction in New York differs from California verdict, experts say
At the center of the New York appellant court’s majority argument was the judge admitting testimony from women with allegations that were not a part of the case − known as Molineux witnesses. Some of the witnesses in the 2020 trial testified during the 2022 trial, however, California handles its witnesses differently.
“Different courts in different jurisdictions often interpret the use of other victims’ testimony differently,” says Michelle Simpson Tuegel, a victims’ rights attorney and founder of the Simpson Tuegel Law Firm. “I think that argument is something that is likely being made in the appellate case in California, but that doesn’t mean the same result will be true and it really shouldn’t impact it.”
Simpson Tuegel says with as many resources and access to attorneys Weinstein has, it wouldn’t be surprising if his legal representation used everything they could in seeking an appeal.
“They are (likely doing) what we saw with other high-profile defendants going down every road and trying every angle to get him another bite at the apple and overturn the conviction,” she says.
David Ring, the lawyer for Doe, who has revealed her identity as Evgeniya Chernyshova, said they were “confident” the overturn would have no bearing on the Los Angeles conviction. But Chernyshova was still “disappointed” in the decision.
“She feels badly for those victims who endured that trial and the subsequent appeals, only to see the convictions reversed,” Ring previously told USA TODAY. “However, both she and I are confident that Weinstein’s Los Angeles conviction for rape will be upheld. As the only victim who has now obtained a criminal conviction against Weinstein, she will continue to stand tall and do whatever necessary to obtain justice not only for herself but for all victims.”
What happened in Harvey Weinstein’s 2022 California rape trial?
A jury in December 2022 found Weinstein guilty of the rape and sexual assault of Doe.
But the jury hung on several other counts, including accusations involving Jennifer Siebel Newsom, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wife. The jury said it was unable to reach a verdict on her and another woman’s claims, with Judge Lisa B. Lench declaring a mistrial on those counts.
Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years, after facing up to 18 additional years in prison. Lench sentenced him to eight years for forcible rape, six years for forcible oral copulation and two years for forcible penetration with a foreign object. She also rejected a motion by his lawyers for a new trial.
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What does this mean for other #MeToo cases?
Few lawyers anticipate the reversal in Weinstein’s case to lead to other #MeToo convictions being revisited.
“I don’t see this decision having precedential impact on other such cases,” Neama Rahmani, president of the Los Angeles-based West Coast Trial Lawyers, tells USA TODAY of Weinstein. “For one, it was a slim majority in the New York case (a 4-3 decision). And New York law doesn’t control California and other state laws.”
What the decision may have bearing over, Simpson Tuegel says, are victims of sexual violence.
“There was a lot of momentum behind this case. And if this conviction can be overturned, I think of my clients who are the only survivor who may have come forward against an abuser … when so many survivors who had so much behind them are seeing this overturning of a conviction after a really long road,” she says.
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“That’s extremely hard for the survivors of Weinstein to see but also for survivors around the country,” she continues.
However much of a blow this decision is, she adds, she continues to encourage clients seeking justice.
“Just by speaking out … they create change, and I think the survivors have done that, regardless of whether he’s convicted in New York or not,” she says. “And he still has a conviction in California that’s over his head. So he’s not free.”
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Is Harvey Weinstein still in jail? What happens now?
Weinstein is currently housed at the Mohawk Correctional Facility in Rome, New York. He returned to New York last year after having been extradited to California to face charges there, according to The Associated Press.
Weinstein will now likely be transferred back to California to serve the remainder of his sentence for his conviction of rape in 2022.
Contributing: Marco della Cava and David Oliver
